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to occidentalize

to occidentalize

9.9
To make someone or something take on Western ways and ideas
  • verb
  • /ˌɑːksɪˈdɛntəlˌaɪz/
  • Formal
translation icon : occidentalizar
  • Many international brands are occidentalizing their marketing strategies to appeal to Western consumers.

Examples

  • The government is trying to occidentalize the education system to align it more with Western values.

  • To assure us that such is both feasible and desirable, she begins her book with the following Orientalizing and Occidentalizing essentialisms:

    Academic text (1991)
  • Perhaps more than any other anthropologist, Mead not only Orientalized the "other" but Occidentalized "us." (n2)

    Academic text (1991)
  • Thus far, our argument concerning Mead and Bateson has been that by Orientalizing the "other" as culturally determined, it has been possible for them to Occidentalize "us" as free to choose our destinies.

    Academic text (1991)
  • A view of ourselves as disconnected—as absolved from the obligation to struggle to know the "other"—is, given the nature of a system, to Occidentalize by misinterpreting who we are, including the effects we have in the world.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Soon what had begun with Western coercion to trade became a massive Occidentalizing movement. During the last week of August 1941, Colonel Iwakuro, who had worked on the Draft Understanding with the United States to avoid war, attended a liaison conference with the Navy, where he contrasted the alarming differences between American and Japanese war potential.

    Academic text (1995)
  • As countries develop, they often face pressure to occidentalize their traditions and customs in favor of Western practices.

Synonyms

to westernize
vsto occidentalize
4 6.3

Adopt customs and ways of life from Western countries

means the same and stresses Western European or American influence
to Americanize
vsto occidentalize
3 6.5

To make a person or thing more like American culture

is broader covering Western influence beyond American traits alone
to acculturate
vsto occidentalize
  • Specialized
1 8.2

Learn and use the customs and ways of another group

focuses on Western adoption rather than general cultural exchange
to Europeanize
vsto occidentalize
7.7

To make something more like European culture and customs

is broader covering Western influence beyond Europe alone
to enculturate
vsto occidentalize
  • Specialized
9.2

Change something so it fits local customs and values

is specifically about making things adopt Western customs and values

Antonyms

to orientalize
  • Offensive
9.9

To make something look like it comes from Asian culture, often using simple, wrong ideas

How Western

to occidentalize
  • Formal
9.9

Surface Forms

occidentalize infinitive
occidentalized past participle
occidentalizing present participle
occidentalizes third person singular

Morphology

occidentalize = occidental (semi-transparent) = occident + al + ize

Adding the productive suffix '-ize' to the adjective 'occidental' yields a verb meaning 'make or become Western', a regular and predictable derivation.

Etymology

The word occidentalize comes from occidental, which means 'of the west', and the ending -ize, which means 'to make' or 'become'. So to occidentalize something is to make it like the West — giving it Western customs, values, or ways.